Versión Español
Machete fights have emerged between occupants of usurped buildings and elderly citizens who are on the verge of heart attacks when they see their houses emptied. The squatters have produced this scenario. They are a social movement with a political background of “wealth redistribution.” They usurp homes of some people for use by other people.
The main problem in dealing with this situation is the saturation of the courts. Forty-five percent of the total number of courts prolong until the statute of limitations expires. In July 2015, the reform of the Criminal Code reduced the statute of limitations from five years to one.
Additionally, the justice system does not record these types of misdemeanors. In other words, they don’t count as repeat offenses thus reducing the possibility of imprisonment for squatters.
The PSOE (Socialist Party of the Spanish Worker) and Podemos Party voted against modifying the Code of Civil Procedure. However, Congress managed to pass a law to expedite evictions through legal measures: “Evict squatters within five days.”
Nevertheless, little has changed in practice.
In some cities in Spain, such as Barcelona, the law and left-wing political parties, applaud and support the actions of these squatters. There are signs and painted walls all over the city asking tourists to leave, thus deterring investments while promoting policies of state dependence that validate the expropriation of goods and property.
Jorge García Martínez, who holds a master’s degree in the Austrian School of Economics from Spain’s King Juan Carlos University, explained this issue to the PanAm Post. He also warned Hispanic Americans that any nation that votes for those who do not respect life, property, and freedom faces the same dangers as Spain.
PanAm Post: Why are there so many cases where squatters can usurp people’s homes?
García Martínez: Squatting is rampant for two precise reasons. First, because the ideology behind this is socialism, it is an ideology of thieves and slackers who want to live at the expense of others.
🎥VÍDEO| Máxima tensión en L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Unos okupas salen a la calle con machete en mano y se pelean a plena luz del día
▶https://t.co/897gn9dxri pic.twitter.com/WFHMhJqCR1
— Espejo Público (@EspejoPublico) July 1, 2019
On the other hand, various socialist political parties that control Spanish institutions defended squatters. The lax and gentle laws do not condemn squatters or protect homeowners. Thus, the institutions and the law encourage squatters to occupy homes while property owners are left defenseless.
PanAm Post: What does the squatting movement tell us about the normalization of the “wealth distribution” in the rest of the spheres?
García Martínez: Marxism is the underlying ideology of the practice of squatting. Moreover, as Marxists, squatters are hypocrites. Squatters have illegally occupied people’s homes. When the owners kick out the squatters and recover their original homes, the squatters report them for breaking into houses.
The politicians defending squatters are deceiving the population. They are stealing from the people while pretending that it is for the benefit of the poor. In reality, they are the ones who take from everyone, including the poorest.
Okupan la casa de un matrimonio de ancianos cuando salieron a dar un paseo https://t.co/EH4yX01SIb
— Antena3Noticias (@A3Noticias) July 5, 2019
PanAm Post: What guarantees does Spain offer a foreign investor if a squatter can take away someone’s property?
García Martínez: If I were an investor, I wouldn’t invest in certain places in Spain. Places like Barcelona and other areas are becoming real crime hotspots due to the lack of defense of property rights because there is no rule of law.
In Spain, owners do not have the right to defend their property with weapons as would be the logical thing to do. Further, there is no law forcing the police to expel squatters immediately. If someone trespasses into a house, the owner does not have the absolute right to evict them. There is no security for investors.
PanAm Post: What can be done to reverse or at least lessen this phenomenon?
García Martínez: Reversing this trend is simple. We have to defend property. First, the law should mandate squatters to leave the moment they attempt to occupy a property.
As soon as they illegally seize property, the police arrive, break the door, catch them, throw them out, and put them in prison. That’s the first thing to do to protect property belonging to homeowners. Secondly, as is the case in Italy and the United States, Spain must allow homeowners to arm themselves to defend their home against a robbery or attempted occupation.
PanAm Post: What message would you give Hispanic American readers about the importance of taking care of the private property?
García Martínez: I will tell Hispanics not vote for the left. Venezuela is on the left as a result of socialism. Argentina is on the left. How would you prefer to live? Like Venezuela and Argentina or Chile and the United States?
Don’t vote for the left. It is a fraudulent ideology that promises middle-class people that they must give up large parts of their salary and redistribute it to the poor. However, in reality, the politicians redistribute this wealth amongst themselves, enrich one another, and impoverish the middle class.
It is a scam that leads countries to ruin. People are defenseless. They cannot defend their property nor their freedoms. When this ideology goes to the extremes, as in Venezuela, the government does not respect the right to life of its citizens.
If Hispanic citizens want to prosper, they want to enrich themselves, they want to have a better life, they must vote for parties that defend property rights, free markets, freedom, and life.
If they want to be impoverished, have no rights, be completely defenseless, and if they want their country to be the focus of violence, then they should vote for the left.
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